Conventionally, in a print system to which an information processing apparatus of this type can be applied, a printer, client computers (PCs), server computer, and the like can communicate with each other via a predetermined communication medium, and print jobs received in accordance with job processing requests from the respective client computers are stored in a job spooler in the order they are received, and are interpreted in turn to print using the printer.
In a recent print system, the job names of print jobs spooled in a server can be displayed on a client. Using network utility software installed on the client, a print job is designated, the print process of the designated print job can be suspended or canceled according to the authority of the client, and order control can also be made.
Recent software which runs on the client holds print jobs in a PDL format generated by a printer driver without sending their print requests to a print server, and sends a plurality of print jobs together to the print server as a print result, thus implementing a combined print process.
However, when an end process such as a shut-down process or the like of the client or print server is executed while a job whose process is not completed is spooled, the information processing apparatus which forms the conventional print system deletes such job or re-registers it upon restarting the client or print server after the end process, and cannot proceed to execute the print process. Also, the conventional utility software can make order control of print jobs spooled in the server (print server) but cannot control a print process of a group job by grouping a plurality of jobs so as to prevent another print job from interrupting the group job.
In order to reduce the load on the network or print server, a client may send only a print request and job information to the print server, the print server may manage the order control, and the print job itself may be spooled by the client as the print request source. However, a plurality of jobs, which are separately spooled in the print server and clients so as to output them to an identical printer from a plurality of different clients cannot undergo a print process together, or the processing order of jobs spooled in clients in a given group cannot be designated from another client.
Upon grouping print jobs, all print jobs to be grouped are not always ready. Also, the user who uses the client computer does not always immediately issue a print request of a print job in the next print order from the client computer, and a print request may be issued after an elapse of a long period of time when the user is away from his or her desk. In such case, since a print process cannot be started before all grouped print jobs are ready to print, i.e., print jobs are ready to be sent to the printer, print jobs spooled in a server spooler in the print server and client spoolers in respective clients must stand by in that state. However, in a conventional print queue, since a print job whose print request has been issued must be ready to print, a print job must be sent to the printer when a turn to print that print job in the print queue comes.
The conventional software, which implements a combined print process, can execute a combined print process of print jobs from a single client, but cannot form a group of print jobs generated by a plurality of clients.
Furthermore, since the conventional system does not consider any group print process, an end message is sent to a client as the request source upon completion of output of each print job. For this reason, an end message cannot be sent after the print processing states of all jobs that have undergone print processes in a given group are confirmed, and it is confirmed if a series of print processes have ended normally.
When a print process has failed due to a printer error or the like before the end of print processes of all jobs in a group is confirmed, if a client is not informed of all jobs in the group, the user or server as the print request source cannot change a print destination, and cannot take quick and flexible measures against such error. As a result, the suspended group print process cannot be resumed, and a desired print processing result cannot be quickly obtained.
Some recent print system considers a change in print destination of a single print job, but does not consider a change in print destination of the aforementioned grouping job. For this reason, even when the print destination of a single print job has been changed, the paper output face need not be considered as long as an identical PDL is used. This is because the print job is internally spooled, and can undergo a print process by reversing the order of pages by the function of the printer itself. However, the function of the printer itself can cover only a single job, but cannot cover the grouping job, which is considered in the present invention.